USD Magazine Fall 2010

AROUND  THE PARK

Professor Jerome Hall wants future generations to hear the stories of Holocaust witnesses such as his father, Marvin.

A PROMISE NEVER TO FORGET L i b e r a t o r o f Da c h a u r e c a l l s d a y s o f ho r r o r a nd hop e [ g a l l a n t r y ]

BARBARA FERGUSON

by Melissa Wagoner shattered and never again returned to normalcy. These recollections have largely shaped the way historians and H olocaust museums and memorials across the globe tell the stories of survivors, of those who saw and lived a horror beyond imagination, whose lives were

global citizens view, and have learned from, the atrocities of the Holocaust. Few stories, how- ever, are recorded of those who were part of the American liber- ation, and who helped shape the course of history through their heroism and sacrifice. Ninety-year-old First Sergeant Marvin Hall, United

States Army, is part of a dimin- ishing group of veterans who share an experience “beyond description.” Sitting in the Joan B. Kroc School for Peace & Justice, First Sergeant Hall speaks slowly, try- ing to describe the images he sees in his mind as clearly as if it were yesterday. “I’ll always

remember. Never want to see it again” he says, his eyes glassy. In April 1945, with snow still on the ground, Hall and three other soldiers were sent to Dachau by jeep. Not knowing what to expect, Hall recalls the water that surrounded the camp, meant to trap and kill prisoners who tried to escape.

10 USD MAGAZINE